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| January 26, 2008 | Saturday | Muharram 16, 1429 |
Updated round-the-clock, with major updates after 10:00 PST (05:00 GMT)
Turkey warns against EU 'club of Christians' DAVOS, Switzerland, Jan 26, 2008 (AFP) Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan warned the European Union against becoming a “club of Christians” as he pushed Saturday for Ankara's membership in the bloc. “If the EU finds itself as a club of Christians.... it is against the very soul of the EU,” Babacan told reporters on the sidelines of the annual World Economic Forum in the Swiss ski resort of Davos.(Posted @ 23:02 PST)
Jordan tourist bus crash kills 21, police say AMMAN, Jordan (AP) At least 21 people were killed Saturday when a tour bus collided with a water tanker on a highway in northern Jordan, the official Petra news agency reported. At least 33 others were wounded, including three people in critical condition, Petra said quoting police spokesman Mohammed al-Khatib. The tour bus, which was operated by the privately owned Jordanian Trust Co., was traveling from the northern town of Jerash to Irbid, located about 88 kilometers (55 miles) north of the capital, Amman, when it crashed with the tanker and overturned into a valley. The bus fell 33 meters (108 feet) through the air before landing on the valley floor, the agency reported.(Posted @ 23:01 PST)
Up to 25 militants killed in Pakistan KOHAT, Pakistan, Jan 26 (Reuters) - A Pakistani army helicopter targeted militants trying to damage the Kohat tunnel in the country's North West Frontier Province on Saturday, killing up to 25, Kamran Zeb, District Coordination Officer of Kohat region, said. The Tunnel links the towns of Kohat and Peshawar. “Some 20-25 militants have been killed in the attack,” he said. A military spokesman confirmed the clashes in the area. The incident came a day after up to 30 pro-Taliban militants and two soldiers were killed in Darra Adam Kheil in fighting that erupted when insurgents seized four trucks carrying ammunition and other supplies for troops on Thursday. Known as a haven for smugglers, the small dusty town of Darra Adam Kheil had until recently been relatively free of the militant violence. Security forces also battled militants in South Waziristan, where 150 militants and more than 20 soldiers have been killed in a week of clashes with fighters loyal to Baitullah Mehsud.(Posted @ 20:58 PST)
Pakistan weather: cold wave to persist ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, Jan 26 (APP): The Met Office has forecast dry weather with cold wave conditions and ground frost formation in Punjab and Islamabad during the next 24 hours. It has also forecast that a westerly weather system may affect western Balochistan on January 27 and may persist for the next 48 hours. Rain and snowfall over the hills is expected at scattered to widespread places in Balochistan during the next 2 days. In NWFP, Kashmir, and Northern Areas dry weather with cold wave conditions are expected during next 48 hours. Cold wave condition in most parts of Sindh may subside from Sunday night.(Posted @ 20:30 PST)
MQM chief meets Musharraf LONDON, Jan 26 (APP)- MQM leader Altaf Hussain called on President Pervez Musharraf at his London hotel on Saturday and held discussion of a whole range of national issues. According to President's spokesman Major-General (retd) Rashid Qureshi, the meeting lasted 30 minutes and it focused on domestic politics, internal situation and the upcoming parliamentary elections on February 18.(Posted @ 20:18 PST)
American woman kidnapped in Afghanistan: governor KANDAHAR, Afghanistan, Jan 26 (AP) - Gunmen kidnapped a burqa-clad American aid worker and her driver while they were driving through a residential area of Kandahar early Saturday, Governor Asadullah Khalid said. The 49-year-old American worked for the Asian Rural Life Development Foundation.(Posted @ 20:10 PST)
Sri Lankan jets bomb Tamil rebels' naval headquarters COLOMBO, Sri Lanka, Jan 26 (AP) - Sri Lankan air force jets bombed the separatist Tamil rebels' naval headquarters Saturday while the group's sea wing leaders were holding a meeting there, the military said. However, a pro-rebel Web site said the airstrike hit the offices of a British aid agency in rebel-held Mullaitivu district. A spokesman at the agency's office in Britain told The Associated Press by phone that he had not heard of any damage to its offices in Sri Lanka. The military later also claimed that top rebel leader Velupillai Prabhakaran had been injured in another air raid. The guerrillas, however, denied he was hurt.(Posted @ 20:08 PST)
Bhutto niece Fatima wants to make own political mark NEW DELHI, Jan 26 (AFP) - Fatima Bhutto, niece of slain Pakistani leader Benazir Bhutto, says she wants to make her own political mark and not be a “political inheritor,” media reported Saturday. Fatima's striking looks, strong will and charm have led to comparisons with her famous aunt and suggestions by political observers that she could be an eventual political successor despite deep rifts within the Bhutto family. “I am also a political Bhutto -- and I also know how the name restricts me,” Fatima, a poet and author, told a literary festival in the northern Indian city of Jaipur. “I don't want to be a political inheritor and would like to make my own mark. Politics in Pakistan should promote the new generation beyond the lineage system,” she said, according to India's Mail Today. “The attack on her (Benazir) was an attack on Pakistan. The Bhuttos have paid a very high price for being in politics,” Fatima said.(Posted @ 19:56 PST)
Pakistani troops battle militants for control of tunnel, arms trucks PESHAWAR, Pakistan, Jan 26 (AFP) - Pakistani paramilitary forces clashed with militants Saturday to wrest control of a key road tunnel in the northwest and recover arms-laden trucks seized by rebels, the army said. Militants occupied the tunnel which connects Peshawar to the city of Kohat in North West Frontier Province. “The operation is ongoing to recover seized trucks, retrieve control of the tunnel and open a major highway which had been blocked by miscreants,” chief military spokesman Major General Athar Abbas told AFP. There were no immediate reports of casualties in fresh clashes but on Friday troops said they had killed 30 rebels and lost two soldiers in Dara Adam Khel, which is known for its weapons bazaar and illegal arms makers. In a separate incident, militants tried to target a security forces convoy Saturday afternoon with a roadside bomb near the tunnel but it caused no harm as the vehicles had already passed when it went off, officials said. Helicopter gunships were also involved in the clashes, officials said. Abbas said local criminal gangs were taking advantage of the situation and had joined with extremists. He said the operation was to provide relief to the local people and clear the area of outlaws. Hundreds of families have fled the town and all markets were closed Saturday as artillery and helicopter gunships pounded militant bunkers in the hills.(Posted @ 19:49 PST)
Snow causes chaos in China BEIJING, Jan 26 (AFP) - The worst snowfalls in a decade caused traffic chaos across much of China Saturday as millions of people tried to head home for the important Lunar New Year holiday, state media reported. The worst-hit provinces were Anhui in the east, central Hubei and Hunan, which supply millions of migrant workers who work in the cities and return home to celebrate Lunar New Year, which this year falls on February 7. Airports in Hunan and the eastern provinces of Jiangsu, Anhui and Jiangxi as well as highways were temporarily closed, Xinhua news agency said. Besides dislocation of train service, more than 20,000 vehicles with 60,000 people were stranded in Hunan due to the closure of the expressway. Nearly 10,000 vehicles were also stuck in Guangdong due to the road closure.(Posted @ 19:40 PST)
Pakistan beat Korea 4-0 in Kuala Lumpur KARACHI, Jan 26 (APP): Pakistan registered an impressive 4-1 (half-time 2-0) victory over Korea on the penultimate day of 8-nation Invitation Junior Hockey Championship in Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) on Saturday.(Posted @ 19:23 PST)
Two Pakistani policemen, FC official killed in attack at security checkpost in Dir PESHAWAR, Pakistan, Jan 26 (APP): Two Police constables and an FC personnel died and one received critical injuries in indiscriminate firing at a security checkpost in Timergarah in Lower Dir late Friday night. According to Dir Police, the firing was intense and the officials on duty died on the spot.(Posted @ 19:19 PST)
Nearly 40 Egyptian security personnel injured by Palestinians at Gaza border CAIRO, Egypt, Jan 26 (AP) At least 38 Egyptian security personnel have been hospitalized, including some in critical condition, during the Gaza border crossings, Egyptian foreign minister announced Saturday following a meeting with the Egyptian president and several cabinet ministers. that between 10 and 12 riot police and 26 border guards, and two senior officers, were all in the hospital, some in danger of losing their lives, due to ''actions by Palestinian elements'' over the past two days. This statement came in the midst of reports of Hamas gunmen opening fire Friday on Egyptian security forces attempting to stem the flow of thousands of Palestinians into the Egyptian border town of Rafah after the border wall was destroyed two days earlier. Aboul Gheit said that for now Egyptian forces would show self control in the face of these provocations and continue to let Palestinians into Rafah to buy supplies. (First Posted @ 13:35 PST, Updated @ 19:07 PST)
19 more die in clashes in western Kenya town NAIROBI, Jan 26 (AFP) Nineteen people were killed in clashes in the western Kenyan town of Nakuru, police said Saturday, bringing the total toll since Thursday night to 45. “We recovered nine bodies and nine others died in Nakuru General Hospital,” a police commander said. “One person was killed a few minutes ago,” he added. (First Posted @ 08:55 PST, Updated @ 18:50 PST)
Soomro meets UAE President RAHIM YAR KHAN, Pakistan, Jan 26 (APP) Pakistan’s caretaker Prime Minister Mohammedmian Soomro Saturday called on the visiting President of United Arab Emirates and ruler of Abu Dhabi, Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan in Rahim Yar Khan. The two leaders exchanged views on bilateral issues and reiterated their resolve to further cementing the long lasting brotherly relations between the two countries.(Posted @ 18:33 PST)
Egypt says will keep border open and help Gazans restock CAIRO, Jan 26 (AFP) Egypt said Saturday it would continue to allow Gazans to cross the breached border and help them stock up on supplies on the fourth day of unfettered access, the MENA news agency reported. North Sinai Governor Ahmed Abdel-Hamid said that “Palestinians will continue to cross until they get all their needs of commodities and foodstuffs” in response to an Israeli lockdown on the territory of 1.5 million. Egyptian security forces have been “instructed to facilitate the Palestinians' passage and guide them to the places where they could get their needs,” Abdel-Hamid said. (First Posted @ 13:35 PST, Updated @ 17:37 PST)
Strike shuts occupied Kashmir on India's Republic Day SRINAGAR, occupied Kashmir, Jan 26 (AFP) Srinagar and other towns across occupied Kashmir's were crippled by a strike on Saturday called by separatists on the occasion of India's Republic Day. The one-day shutdown left streets deserted in Srinagar where police detained nearly two dozen protesters who were shouting: “We want freedom - Indians get out of Kashmir.” The protesters led by longtime separatist leader Shabbir Shah, were taken into custody near the UN observer mission office as they were about to present a petition to protest alleged brutality by Indian security forces. Other mainly Muslim areas in the state were hit by the strike.(Posted @ 17:24 PST)
India urged to withdraw troops, draconian laws from troubled northeast and occupied Kashmir ISLAMABAD, Jan 26 (APP) In New Delhi, hundreds of people, including human rights activists, and social scientists, staged a peaceful rally against the imposition of black laws and heavy deployment of Indian troops in occupied Kashmir and India’s north-eastern states on the pretext of the so-called insurgency, KMS reported. “We need to stand up in support of all those waging a peaceful struggle against draconian laws like the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA),” said Onil Kshetrimayum, one of the organisers of the protest at the Jantar Mantar. “The northeast and Jammu and Kashmir have been victims of this martial law for decades and still the government is justifying the reasons for this unconstitutional law to be due to the disturbances in these states,” he said. The speakers said that for the people of occupied Kashmir, Manipur and north-eastern parts of India who have suffered at the hands of Indian troops for the past several decades under cover of the AFSPA, India's Republic Day was a day of sadness. Magsaysay Award winner (Emergent Leadership, 2002) Sandeep Pandey, rights activist Sabnam Hashmi and students from various institutions took part in the protest. (Posted @ 17:10 PST)
Explosion reverberated in Baghdad, including mortar round into Green Zone BAGHDAD, Jan 26 (AP) A series of explosions thundered in Baghdad Saturday morning, including one from a mortar round that hit the U.S.-controlled Green Zone. Police said one of the explosions was a roadside bomb that targeted a U.S. patrol in eastern Baghdad. A police officer, speaking anonymously, said the blast site was sealed by American forces and there was no immediate way to detail damage or casualties. (Posted @ 16:40 PST)
Small plane crashes in Indonesia, three feared dead JAKARTA, Jan 26 (AFP) A small plane crashed in Indonesia's Kalimantan island Saturday, with its three crew feared dead, local media reported. The Cassa 212-200, which disappeared Saturday en route to a district in East Kalimantan, was found completely destroyed in the jungle, a local search and rescue official told ElShinta radio. (Posted @ 16:30 PST)
Russian police clash with protesters in Ingushetia NAZRAN, Russia, Jan 26 (Reuters) Russian riot police fired warning shots into the air and beat demonstrators who rallied Saturday against alleged vote-rigging in the Ingushetia province, a witness said. Russia is fighting a growing insurgency in the region that borders Chechnya, where Moscow has fought two wars against separatists since the fall of the Soviet Union. Riot police used batons and teargas to push back the protesters who pelted police with stones and Molotov cocktails, the witness said. Police detained most of the activists but some set fire to the office of a government-owned newspaper nearby. Moscow's Ekho Moskvy radio station said two of its reporters were detained. (First Posted @ 13:00 PST, Updated @ 16:25 PST)
Pakistan seeks to allay nuke fears ISLAMABAD, Jan 26 (Reuters) Lieutenant General (retd) Khalid Kidwai, director-general of Pakistan’s Strategic Planning Division, gave a presentation to foreign media in Islamabad on Saturday to allay fears that Pakistan’s nuclear weapons could fall into the hands of terrorists. “We have instituted command and control structures and security measures in a manner so as to make these foolproof,” said Kidwai, adding that “we are capable of thwarting all types of threats whether these be insider, outsider, or a combination.” General Kidwai said 10,000 troops were deployed around Pakistan's nuclear facilities. He said security was heightened after militants began more actively targeting the military in a wave of suicide attacks during the past year. “The state of alertness has gone up,” he said, but emphasized that no conspiracy or plot related to nuclear facilities had ever been uncovered. Kidwai, who has headed the SPD since its inception in 1999, has given three similar presentations to foreign diplomats and Pakistani media during the past few months. He said there was an exhaustive vetting process, involving political, moral and financial checks and psychological testing for staff working in nuclear facilities, and security monitors kept especially close tabs on some 2,000 scientists working in ultra-sensitive areas. He said the nuclear proliferation scandal that broke in 2003, revolving around Abdul Qadeer Khan, was a closed chapter and there was no evidence to suggest any members of the military establishment had been involved. He said Dr. Khan's activities largely pre-dated the establishment of the SPD, and subsequent breaches of security by people involved in the nuclear programme had been minor, citing the case of a scientist who made an anti-Musharraf speech in a mosque and was removed the next day. (First Posted @ 15:00 PST, Updated @ 16:15 PST)
Fire engulfs luxury hotel in New Delhi NEW DELHI, Jan 26 (AFP) Firefighters battled to put out a blaze Saturday that raced through New Delhi’s The Grand Hotel, where hundreds of western tourists were staying. There were no immediate reports of casualties as rescue workers evacuated hotel guests from the burning building, a fire department spokesman told AFP. The fire erupted in the restaurant facilities of the hotel in New Delhi's Vasant Kunj district and quickly spread to other floors, the official said. (Posted @ 16:15 PST)
Gunfire rocks Kenya town as death toll reaches 25 NAKURU, Kenya, Jan 26 (Reuters) Gunfire rang out in Nakuru Saturday and armed gangs manned roadblocks in the western Kenyan town where at least 25 people have been killed in ethnic clashes since Thursday, witnesses said. Paramilitary police patrolled the Rift Valley provincial capital, which had previously been spared post-election chaos that has killed around 700 people since disputed December 27 polls. More than 100 injured people were admitted at the hospital. The authorities had imposed a dusk-to-dawn curfew on the town in a bid to contain pitched battles between tribal gangs. (First Posted @ 08:55 PST, Updated @ 15:15 PST)
Israeli police shoot Palestinian after stabbing JERUSALEM, Jan 26 (Reuters) Israeli police shot a Palestinian who had stabbed an Israeli border policeman near Jerusalem Saturday, Israeli ambulance workers said. (Posted @ 15:10 PST)
US military says wanted militant Darim Sedgai killed in Pakistan KABUL, Jan 26 (AFP) The US military in Afghanistan said Saturday that a Taliban-linked militant leader wanted by Washington had been killed in Pakistan. Darim Sedgai was ambushed by unknown gunmen on January 16 and died of his wounds, the military said in a statement. The military described him as a “powerful commander” linked to a top Taliban leader, Siraj Haqqani, but did not provide any further details of the incident. (Posted @ 15:05 PST)
Musharraf rules out possibility of clash between President and PM LONDON, Jan 26 (APP) President Musharraf dismissed the impression that there will be any clash between the authority of the President and the Prime Minister following February 18 general elections. Addressing a gathering of Pakistanis at a local hotel here late Friday, he said there will be no problem for the majority party to form the government and elect its prime minister. The PM, being a chief executive of the country will be empowered to run the affairs of the government, meeting national aspirations as well as maintaining the economic growth and the development achieved during the last seven years. He expressed his confidence that a stable, moderate and honest government will come into power as a result of the democratic process. He said in case a single party would not be able to form the government, a coalition government could come into power, and added that he will be prepared to facilitate the process of forming the new future government. He said the elections are going to take place as scheduled. The President took a strong exception to the allegations of rigging, stating the election system was inherently fair and transparent. Pervez Musharraf recounted the economic achievements of his government, pointing that all economic indicators are favourable, showing upward trend in socio-economic development. (Posted @ 15:05 PST)
Security tightened around Pakistan’s nuclear facilities RAWALPINDI, Pakistan, Jan 26 (AFP) Pakistan said Saturday it had tightened security around all its nuclear facilities amid a surge in militant attacks in the country, but no specific threat had been made against the sites. Retired Lieutenant General Khalid Kidwai rejected international fears that Pakistan's weapons could fall into the wrong hands and warned against any foreign intervention over the issue. “The state of alertness has gone up,” Kidwai, director general of Pakistan's strategic plan division which controls the country's nuclear programme, said in response to a question on whether growing violence had impacted security around nuclear facilities. Kidwai did not give details on how security had been bolstered. But, “there is no terrorist threat as yet” against the nuclear sites, he added. “There is no conceivable scenario, political or violent, in which Pakistan will fall to the extremists of the Al-Qaeda or Taliban type,” Kidwai said. “The fears are based on a lack of objective understanding of Pakistan's ground situation and lack of information.” (Posted @ 15:00 PST)
Cricket- Gilchrist to retire from cricket at end of fourth test ADELAIDE, Australia, Jan 26 (Reuters) Australia vice captain Adam Gilchrist announced his retirement from cricket during the fourth test against India Saturday. Gilchrist said he was quitting test cricket after the current match ends on Monday and one-day international cricket at the end of the forthcoming triangular one-day series against India and Sri Lanka. “It is with great pride and happiness that I make the decision to retire from test and one-day cricket,” Gilchrist said in a statement. (Posted @ 13:50 PST)
Egyptian riot police block Gaza cars from crossing into Egypt RAFAH, Gaza Strip, Jan 26 (AP) Egyptian riot police blocked Gaza cars from entering Egypt Saturday, a day after Hamas militants had widened a border breach to make it easier for vehicles to cross. Dozens of riot police formed human chains, blocking two passages used by cars in the breached border, and several Egyptian armoured vehicles took up positions to back up the troops. (Posted @ 13:35 PST)
Sarkozy guest of honour at India’s Republic Day NEW DELHI, Jan 26 (AFP) French President Nicolas Sarkozy was guest of honour Saturday at India's Republic Day parade as New Delhi showcased its latest military hardware including nuclear-capable missiles. Soldiers marched down the central avenue of the British Raj-built capital to the sound of military bagpipes as Sarkozy, Premier Manmohan Singh and Indian president, Pratibha Patil, gazed on from behind bullet-proof glass. Tight security surrounded the annual parade, which marks India’s proclamation as a republic in 1950 -three years after it won independence from British rule. (Posted @ 13:20 PST)
One killed when helicopter crashes on busy Los Angeles freeway LOS ANGELES, Jan 26 (AP) One person was killed when a helicopter crashed onto a busy freeway Friday night, officials said. The helicopter crashed just after 11 p.m. on the southbound lanes of Highway 110 in south Los Angeles, Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman Ron Myers said. Fire crews arrived at the scene to find the aircraft burning. One body was later found in the wreckage. (Posted @ 13:05 PST)
Cricket- Australia 322-3 v India (526) - close ADELAIDE, Jan 26 (Reuters) Australia were 322 for three in their first innings at the close of play on the third day of the fourth and final test against India at Adelaide Oval Saturday. Scores: India 526 (Sachin Tendulkar 153, Anil Kumble 87, Virender Sehwag 63, Harbhajan Singh 63, Vangipurappu Laxman 51; Mitchell Johnson 4-126, Brett Lee 3-101); Australia 322-3 (Matthew Hayden 103, Ricky Ponting 79 not out, Phil Jaques 60) (Posted @ 13:05 PST)
Police fire shots, beat protestors in Russia’s Ingushetia province NAZRAN, Russia, Jan 26 (AFP) Paramilitary police fired in the air and clubbed protestors Saturday at a banned anti-government demonstration in Russia's Ingushetia province, an AFP correspondent said. Security forces fired two shots over the heads of some 500 demonstrators and charged the crowd with truncheons in the town of Nazran. Protestors fought back with stones and bottles, including one petrol bomb. (Posted @ 13:00 PST)
Nearly all nuclear fuel now delivered by Russia to Iran TEHRAN, Jan 26 (AFP) Russia delivered the seventh out of eight consignments of fuel for Iran's first nuclear power plant in the Gulf port of Bushehr Saturday, the IRNA news agency reported. “The seventh load of nuclear fuel arrived at the Bushehr plant on Saturday morning,” Iran's Organisation for Production and Development of Nuclear Energy said in a statement. The delivery brings the amount of nuclear fuel supplied by Russia so far to 77 tonnes or around 94 percent of the total order of 82 tonnes, IRNA said. (Posted @ 13:00 PST)
At least 31 killed in recent Sri Lanka fighting COLOMBO, Jan 26 (AFP) Fighting across Sri Lanka's north has left at least 31 people dead, nearly all of them Tamil Tiger rebels, the island's military said Saturday. The defence ministry said at least 30 Tamil Tiger rebels and one soldier were killed in the fresh wave of fighting Friday, although the Tamilnet.com website said three government soldiers and two guerrillas died. The fighting took place in Mannar in the northwest, the website said. (First Posted @ 09:40 PST, Updated @ 12:55 PST)
Five Muslims shot dead in Thailand's restive south YALA, Jan 26 (AFP): Suspected separatist militants shot dead five Muslims, including a 16-year-old boy, in separate attacks in Thailand's restive south, police said Saturday. A string of shootings underlined almost daily violence in the Muslim-majority region, where more than 2,800 people have been killed since unrest broke out in January 2004. (Posted @ 11:15 PST)
Bus tumbles down hillside in Thailand, killing 9 BANGKOK, Jan 26 (AP): A bus packed with passengers heading to a funeral tumbled down a mountain Saturday in western Thailand, killing nine people and injuring 26 others, police said. The accident occurred after the driver lost control of the bus in Kanchanaburi province, about 210 kilometers west of the capital, Bangkok, said the police chief. The driver then fled the scene, he said. (Posted @ 10:50 PST)
Gunmen open fire on police station in Guyana GEORGETOWN, Jan 26 (AFP): Heavily armed gunmen opened fire late Friday on the heavily fortified headquarters of the Guyana Police Force, injuring two policemen, according to Police Commissioner Henry Greene. Greene said spent shells located at the scene revealed that the gunmen who drove up in a car used M-16 rifles in the second brazen attack on security forces for the week, amid telephone threats purportedly issued to the police by the country's most wanted man, Rondell Rawlins. (Posted @ 10:40 PST)
China to build 97 new airports by 2020 BEIJING, Jan 26 (AFP): China announced plans Saturday to build nearly 100 new airports by 2020 to cater for soaring demand. The proposals will mean eight out of every ten residents will live within 100 kilometres of an airport within 12 years, the General Administration of Civil Aviation said. It put the cost of building the 97 new airports at 450 billion yuan ($61.6 billion). (Posted @ 10:15 PST)
Quake hits western Japan TOKYO, Jan 26 (AFP): A moderate 4.8-magnitude earthquake shook western Japan early Saturday, the meteorological agency said, calling it an aftershock of the deadly quake that hit the region nearly a year ago. The quake hit Noto peninsula on the west coast of Japan's main island of Honshu at 1933 GMT at a depth of 11kms, the agency said. Smaller aftershocks with 3.1 and 2.9 magnitudes followed. A spokesman said the tremors were aftershocks to a 6.9-magnitude earthquake that rocked the region on March 25, 2007. (Posted @ 09:50 PST)
Canada Navy helps Pakistani fishermen adrift in Gulf of Oman OTTAWA, Jan 26 (AFP): The Canadian Navy said Friday it helped 18 fishermen who were adrift in a boat that ran out of fuel off the coast of Pakistan. The crew of the navy ship Charlottetown on Thursday responded to a distress signal from “Al-Rahman” a fishing vessel with 18 Pakistanis on board that was adrift in the Gulf of Oman, the Navy said in a statement. The Canadian vessel filled the fishing vessel's fuel tanks and helped it get on its way. (Posted @ 09:45 PST)
Sharapova beats Ivaonvic to take first Australian Open title MELBOURNE, Jan 26 (Reuters): Fifth seed Maria Sharapova sealed her third grand slam title and first Australian Open with a comfortable 7-5 6-3 victory over Serbia's Ana Ivanovic in the final on Saturday. Sharapova, aside from a few nerves in the first set when she allowed a two-game advantage to slip, overpowered her fourth-seeded opponent with a tremendous service game. (Posted @ 09:45 PST)
Clashes kill 17 Tamil rebels, one soldier in Sri Lanka COLOMBO, Jan 26 (AP): A series of battles between soldiers and separatist Tamil Tigers across Sri Lanka's embattled north killed 17 guerrillas and one soldier, the military said Saturday. Fighting raged along the front lines in Vavuniya district throughout Friday, leaving 13 Tamil Tigers dead, said a defence ministry official. Separate clashes in Mannar district killed four insurgents and one soldier, he said. There was no immediate comment from the rebels. (Posted @ 09:40 PST)
Military says US soldier killed in central Iraq BAGHDAD, Jan 26 (AP): A U.S. soldier died Friday in a non-combat incident, the military reported but gave no other details. The report came from Multi-Division Baghdad office. (Posted @ 09:15 PST)
Cricket: South Africa beat West Indies by 86 runs CAPE TOWN, Jan 26 (AFP): South Africa beat West Indies by 86 runs in the second one-day international at Newlands here on Friday to take a 2-0 lead in the five-match series. (Posted @ 09:00 PST)
Cricket: South Africa beat West Indies by 86 runs CAPE TOWN, Jan 26 (AFP): South Africa beat West Indies by 86 runs in the second one-day international at Newlands here on Friday to take a 2-0 lead in the five-match series. (Posted @ 09:00 PST)
15 killed in strife-torn western Kenya NAKURU, Jan 26 (AFP): Ethnic clashes killed at least 15 people in Kenya's western Rift Valley, police said Friday, diminishing hopes of an end to weeks of rioting and tribal killings sparked by disputed presidential polls. As violence exploded in the provincial capital Nakuru, where eight people were killed Friday, authorities imposed an overnight curfew. (Posted @ 08:55 PST)
Sweden to sell six fighter planes to Thailand STOCKHOLM, Jan 26 (AFP): Sweden's government said Friday it had agreed to sell six supersonic fighter planes and a radar surveillance system to Thailand for 3.8 billion kronor ($594 million). “We have agreed to sell six Jas 39 Gripen planes and the Erieye radar surveillance system” to Thailand, a spokesman for the Swedish defence minister told AFP. (Posted @ 08:55 PST)
Suharto now breathing on his own: doctor JAKARTA, Jan 26 (AFP): Indonesia's former president Suharto could be allowed to leave hospital soon after staging a remarkable recovery one of his doctors said on Saturday. He said Suharto was now breathing on his own. The condition of the 86-year-old has gone up and down since he was admitted to hospital three weeks ago with heart, lung and kidney problems. (Posted @ 08:35 PST)
Mullahs and Khans at odds over women’s right to own land By Mubarak Zeb Khan
With the general elections looming large, women's rights are again coming to the fore in the North West Frontier Province where the two powerful influences on the Pakhtun society - the Mullah and the Khan - seem to be at odds on the issue.
While both sides agree on keeping women segregated and confined to their houses, they differ on the long denied right of women to own land.
In its five-year rule in the NWFP, the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA), the flag-bearer of Islamic order in the country, made an attempt to frame a law securing women their right to own land as granted by Islam. But the Maulanas did not seem to be too keen in their effort as they succumbed to the subtle pressures mounted by the Khans to scuttle the attempt.
The Khans used the Pakhtun institution of ‘Hujra’ to defeat the attempt by the ‘Mosque’ to empower Pakhtun women financially.
Economist Dr Saba Gul Khattak feels that in championing the women's cause the MMA legislators appeared to be more interested in gaining political mileage for themselves rather than gaining women their right to land.
It was alleged by opponents that the MMA raised the issue of land ownership because its members did not own much land and secondly a legislation securing women that right would hit the male chauvinist Khans in areas where the religious alliance had no presence.
Their other "Islamic moves" also appeared to be dictated by political interests rather than promoting Islamic values. Soon after coming into power in NWFP in 2002, the MMA banned female sports, music in public transport and male medics handling female patients.
These actions spawned an 'unofficial' campaign against billboards carrying images of women, cinema houses and the entertainment industry in general - particularly professionals like musicians and female dancers.
Such entertainers performed mostly at wedding ceremonies and the ferocious campaign drove hundreds of female dancers in Swat, the only place they were found in the whole province, to worse - prostitution.
That the MMA stood more for form than the spirit of Islam was exposed further when its members in the parliament opposed tooth and nail the Women Protection Bill. But it must be said that they were not alone in opposing the bill as some members of 'liberal' parties kept them company.
Male chauvinism however is not confined to NWFP. It is unfortunately a hallmark of our feudal and tribal society. What is more unfortunate is that this chauvinism is practised in the name of religion, tradition and honour code - like Pakhtunwali in NWFP. There the Khans did not oppose the MMA's attempt at giving women right to land openly and directly but by churning out the propaganda that the MMA wanted to Talibanise the Pakhtun society.
In a way the MMA itself provided a platform for misogynists by peddling legislations like Hasba Bill which, in effect, excluded women from the mainstream.
Dr Saba Gul Khattak wondered why the venerated Maulanas of MMA and others wanted to impose Sharia law sans the rights of women ordained by Allah in Sura Nisa? Feudals lording the Punjab did not allow even their British colonial protectors to grant land rights to Muslim women, she recalled.
After independence, she said the feudals changed their tack, arguing that land should not be subjected to Islamic law until Islam was implemented as a code of life as a whole.
It is not that Pakhtun woman had been denied her rights always and by all.
Centuries ago the great Pakhtun ruler Ahmad Shah Abdali and warrior scholar Khushal Khan Khattak gave their daughters their due share in land inheritance, according Salim Shah, a researcher in the Islamabad-based Sustainable Development Policy Institute.
Women's right to land is particularly an issue in Peshawar valley, Swat, Swabi besides some other districts.
In some districts even men are robbed of their inherited land by the area's big Khan. As in other parts of Pakistan, husbands and sons force their wives and mothers to surrender their land to them.
Many factors lie behind the practice, like the subordinate position of women in the male-dominated society and restrictions on their free movement. Women also fear being rejected by the family for insisting on their rights, particularly from their brothers, who are considered their protector and custodian of their honour.
Although the courts grant land rights to women when approached, it is observed that women seldom wish to register cases at police stations as it is considered as disgrace to the family. Cases taken to the courts mostly arise from family feuds, failed marriages and enmity.
Researcher Shah said the culture of male members illegally transferring land in their names existed in some districts.
Corrupt government officials, particularly ‘Patwaris’ play a big role in depriving women of their land. A small amount of money and influence is enough to convince them to transfer the land in the name of male members of a family.
As education and awareness rise among the Pakhtun women, they will hopefully build enough pressure, with the help of the civil society and other lobbies, to secure their God-given right to own land.
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